


When You See It

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:44:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2766899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>George laughs his way through life until a realization about his little brother's best friend hits him so hard he chokes. Hermione may be the cleverest witch of her age, but that doesn't mean she always pays attention to what's going on around her. This is going to be a mostly cannon retelling of the Harry Potter story from The Goblet of Fire onward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You See It

“This is it,” whispered Fred, giving the final warning as he moved to push open the doors. “No turning back now.”

George took a deep breath. Nerves were not something he was familiar with, but he sure as hell felt them now. He knew the stakes. With Bagman refusing to pay them their winnings from the World Cup, the boys were racing to earn the money needed to fund their business plans. If they didn't get the cash, and get it soon, all those months of work would be sent spiraling straight down the tube. Entry in the Triwizard Tournament was a last ditch effort, and if it failed they were back to square one.

 _Get it together!_ he chided, catching himself. _If anyone can pull this off, it’s the two of you._ With one final crack of his neck to shake the tendrils of doubt that were beginning to take root, he squared his shoulders, pasted a wide grin on his freckled face and moved quickly to follow Fred through the entryway, echoing his cheers.

“Well lads, we’ve done it!” called Fred to the mass of students gathered in the hall.

“Cooked it up just this morning!” chimed George, winking at the audience with much more confidence than he truly felt. His trepidation vanished immediately, however, with the reaction of the crowd. Their cheers and rising excitement brought out the side of him that would always rise to a challenge, costs be damned. That’s what he loved the most about the pranks and gags pulled throughout the years. That rush of adrenaline, the feeling of no consequences…at least until they got caught. He felt his spirits climbing with the noise level. Amid the din of voices echoing throughout the hall, one crystal-clear tone stood out from the rest.

“It’s not going to wo-ork!” came the mocking sing-song of Hermione Granger. With a quick shared glance it was decided that the twins would hold off their plan momentarily, if only to irritate the younger witch. Abruptly the twins changed course, moving in unison to swoop down to her level, settling in on either side of her. Hermione was one of their favorite challengers for, in addition to attaining status as an honorary Weasley, which in itself granted her an additional serving of pranking and ridicule, she held an intelligence level on par with their own. 

“Oh yeah?” questioned Fred.

“And why’s that Granger?” continued George.

“You see this? This is an age line,” she stated making an exaggerated gesture toward the smoky ring encircling the pedestal on which the flaming goblet sat. “Dumbledore drew it _himself_ ,” she finished, turning back towards him, raising one delicately arched eyebrow in a challenge.

George found himself noticing for the first time the light sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of Hermione’s nose. _What a strange thing to be thinking about at a time like this,_  he thought to himself, still transfixed by those tiny little specks of gold.

 _Wait! What the hell am I doing?_  he thought, mentally shaking himself out of his momentary stupor.  _She was mocking us. That’s why I’m over here in the first place!_  

He came back to the real world mid-argument, catching only the tail end of what had been said.

“…couldn’t possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dim-witted as an Aging Potion” she concluded with a satisfied smirk.

“Ah, but that’s why it’s so brilliant!” shot Fred, clearly not noticing his twin’s lapse in concentration.

“Because it’s so pathetically dim-witted!” added George, hoping to Merlin that his reply made sense within the banter. Fred chuckled. Relief rushed through George’s veins. He was safe, at least for the time being. Standing quickly, needing to put some distance between himself and Granger before he did something incredibly stupid, George decided it was time to put the plan into motion.

“Ready Fred?” he asked.

“Ready George!” came the reply after a split second of confused hesitation. Their united, “Bottoms up!” rang out within the hall. Interlocking arms, the twins downed their individual potions, and, as one, hopped across the age line. For an instant there was nothing. Then, all at once, they felt as if their ear drums were about to rupture, as deafening cheers resounded all around. 

 _We've done it!_ thought George.  _We've actually done it!_  

He and Fred made their celebratory rounds with grins and high-fives, accepting their much due praise. Every face in the crowd was sporting a wide grin, every face but one. Granger. Why should her skepticism bother him? He’d never cared a flying flip what she thought before now. And yet, for some reason, the fact that the younger witch didn't approve of his actions was causing a bit of a niggling itch in the back of his mind.

Deciding they had wasted enough time already, George moved in towards the goblet. Fred caught on quickly and together they tossed their names into the flame. Again cheers echoed in the hall, but this time it seemed the celebration had come too soon. Tongues of blue fire blazed out from the cup, knocking the twins flying out of the ring and skidding across the floor.

Dazed, George sat up slowly and tried to locate his twin. After a brief second where no fully formed thoughts could be processed, George realized what had happened. _SHIT! FUCKING ACTUAL SHIT! We’re completely and actually fucked now!!!_

Apparently, Fred had come to the same confusion and the brothers were left gazing at each other in horror as large white beards began to sprout from their jaws.

“You said!”

“You said!!”

The twins’ accusations disintegrated into grunts and random curses as they became a twisting ball of flailing limbs rolling across the floor of the hall. Looking up from where he lay sprawled across the floor, George was the first to see the group of Durmstrang students led in by Viktor Krum.

All noise stopped. No one moved as one by one the Bulgarians dropped their names into the goblet. From his vantage point on the ground, George saw Krum make eye contact with Hermione before turning on his heel and exiting with a slight swirl of his maroon cape.

For the life of him, George, could not determine why the slight blush that tinted Hermione’s cheeks as she glanced back down at the thick book in her lap caused a slight twinge in his chest. Perhaps he was feeling protective. She had been his brother’s best friend for the better part of the past three years and she had stayed with them during the World Cup.

 _That must be it_ , he thought. _I think of her like a little sister. If some hulking Bulgarian looked at Ginny that way I would definitely have something to say on the subject._  

Except, those freckles he noticed earlier were really nothing at all like the orange spots on Ginny’s face and his throat was tightening in a way that it never had when he felt the call to adapt into over protective older brother mode.

But as soon as his thoughts began to move down this strange path, he found himself ripped back to reality by the arrival of Professor McGonagall and, due to the loss in concentration as the twins found themselves being dragged across the castle by their ears, George forgot about his strange thoughts on facial pigmentation, at least the time being.

**Author's Note:**

> So that's the first chapter. Let me know what you think! Ideas are always appreciated. (Also, if anyone is interested in "beta-ing" me, let me know.)
> 
> Peace & Love to you all - aliKAZAM


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